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Gwazine-class
The Gwazine-class is a fictional class of space battleship that appears in the Universal Century time line of the Gundam meta-series. Technology & Combat Characteristics The Gwazine-class battleship was developed by the Principality of Zeon to be the flagship and heavy battleship for the various space fleets of the Principality. Although they fill a role similar to that of the Earth Federal Space Force's ''Magellan''-class battleships, the Gwazine-class completely surpasses the Megellan-class in several ways. The Gwazine-class ships are the most powerful space warships fielded during the One Year War, even more powerful than the Federation's ''Pegasus''-class ships, and the second largest to be fielded, second only to the Dolos-class heavy carrier ships. They are equipped with three massive double-barreled mega particle cannon turrets mounted on their topside. They also have ten smaller double-barreled mega particle cannon turrets, similar to the ones used by the ''Musai'' class light cruisers, and finally they have a high number of 155mm double-barreled anti-aircraft machine guns. It has been stated (in the manga Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Deleted Affair: Portrait Of Young Comet) that the Gwazine-class is capable of traveling the distances between the Earth and the asteroid belt. But the most powerful feature of the Gwazine-class ships were not their guns, but their large mobile suit carrying capacity. Each of these ships possess hangers large enough to hold up to twenty mobile suits, more than triple what the Federation's ''Pegasus''-class ships can hold. On the other hand, the Gwazine-class have a few drawbacks. The ships are so large and resource-consuming that only a handful would be constructed before and during the war. Also, due to their large, maneuvering them around the battlefield takes time. The power source of the Gwazine-class is most probably a Minovsky-Ionesco Fusion Reactor, the standard shipboard nuclear fusion reactor employed before, during, and after the One Year War. The fusion reactor of the Gwazine-class would have to be particularly large in order to generate the mega-particles needed to use the cannons in a timely manner. Armaments ;*2-barrel Main Gun :The primary weapons of the Gwazine-class of battleship are three large 2-barrel mega-particle guns mounted in a row along the dorsal hull. These large turreted guns are amongst the largest ship-mounted mega particle guns employed during the One Year War. The turrets were capable of swiveling at least ninety degrees in either direction from their forward facing position, allowing the guns to be pointed and fired straight to port or starboard. ;*2-barrel Secondary Gun :The secondary weapons of the Gwazine-class are ten 2-barrel mega-particle guns, five mounted along the port and starboard hull each. These guns are slightly smaller than those employed on the Musai-class, but not by much and are overall more powerful through weight of numbers. Because of their positioning these guns can only be fired either to port or starboard depending on which hull the gun is mounted, however these guns can elevate or depress, giving them a decent field of fire. ;*155mm Machine Gun :For anti-air defense the Gwazine-class mounts multiple 155mm machine gun turrets. Because these small guns fire physical ammunition and do not rely on the generator to produce and compress mega-particles they have by far the highest rate of fire. They also have the shortest range and the least power, being completely useless in ship-to-ship battles. Special Equipment & Features ;*External Fuel Tanks :To compensate for their massive fuel consumption, the Gwazine-class ships have external fuel tanks located near their stern. History The Gwazine-class of battleships was developed by the Principality of Zeon during the years they prepared for war against the Earth Federation, with the first Gwazine-class ship entering service in the year UC 0076. At the time of its introduction the Gwazine-class was the largest class of space warship known in the Earth Sphere. Designed as the flagships for high-ranking officers, such as Admirals or the members of the Zabi family, these warships could easily take on and defeat several Earth Federation warships on its own thanks to its high number of mega-particle cannons and the twenty mobile suits it carries. The Gwazine-class battleships took part in most major fleet battles. Two of these ships were seen participating in the Battle of Loum. The ship named Great Degwin served as the personal flagship of Degwin Sodo Zabi, but was destroyed during a peace negotiation with General Revil when Gihren Zabi fired the Solar Ray superweapon on the meeting ships. Several Gwazine-class ships appeared at the Battle of A Baoa Qu, after which only two were known to survive. The first was the Gwaden, the flagship of Admiral Aiguille Delaz. After learning of the death of Gihren Zabi Admiral Delaz believed that the battle was already lost and ordered his ship and the rest of his fleet to retreat. This fleet came to be known collectively as the Delaz Fleet. In UC 0083, this ship sailed as the flagship for Delaz's fleet as they put Operation Stardust into motion. Toward the end of the operation, this vessel was destroyed by Cima in her effort to escape Anavel Gato. The second known Gwazine-class to escape A Baoa Qu was used as an escape ship for Zenna Zabi and Mineva Lao Zabi. The ship broke through the Federation forces under the protection of Char Aznable piloting a modified MS-14S Gelgoog Commander Type, and escaped to Axis. By the year 0083 the Zeon remnant forces at Axis had engineered and built a descendant of the Gwazine-class, the ''Gwanban''-class battleship, which was similar in form and function, and then again in the much larger ''Gwadan''-class battleship. Gallery gwazine-igloo_3.jpg|MS IGLOO version - line art gwazine-bridge.jpg|Bridge Gunpla Gunpla_1-2400_OriginalGwazine_box.jpg|1/2400 Original Gwazine (1983): box art Notes and Trivia *It is implied that one Gwazine-class battleship was destroyed when the Principality of Zeon was experimenting with atmospheric re-entry for their Earth Invasion during the One Year War. References Mechanics0079GwazineChibe.jpg|Gwazine-class "Great Degwin" (top): information and specifications (from Gundam Perfect File) Mechanics0079GwazineChibeDolos.jpg|Gwazine-class "Great Degwin" (top): design and features (Gundam Perfect File) MechanicsIGLGwazinePapua.jpg|Gwazine-class (MS IGLOO version; top) (Gundam Perfect File) External links *[http://www.mahq.net/mecha/gundam/msgundam/gwazine.htm Gwazine-class on MAHQ.net] *Library of Londonion (ship names & fates) ja:グワジン級大型戦艦